April Showers Bring May Flowers
by Sarruby
Summary: Alex spies K-Unit while with Jack and tries to lead them away from her. He does, but things don't go as planned! It's just like that old saying: "It's all fun and games until someone gets hurt." Oneshot, after Snakehead at least. Do not review- it's late.


The wonderful scent of eggs drifted up through the stairway and into Alex's room. Jack was calling him down for a delicious breakfast, which they ate together as they devoured a bountiful conversation.

It was a lovely day outside; the birds were singing, the sun was shining, and absolutely nothing could go wrong.

What harm would it do to go shopping? Jack said they should go to the mall for once. It would be the first time since Alex had gotten out of the hospital.

So, they had gone to the mall.

"Alex, Alex! Take a look at this!" Alex smiled good-naturedly at his somewhat immature guardian. Jack was holding up a Palm Pre; she had been perusing the cellphone store for some time. Despite her obvious joy, Alex's guardian was still perceptive enough to notice that he wasn't enjoying this section of the store as much as she was. After a momentary sigh, she asked, "What would you like to do, Alex?"

"Whatever you'd like to do." Alex was still unsure of what to do after having been away from 'real life' for so long.

"Alex, I am ordering you to tell me what you want to do!" Jack exclaimed jokingly. Regardless, Alex shrugged. "Shall we try the Airsoft gun store? I can get you in- I'm an adult." She winked, and Alex smirked back. "I'll take that as a yes."

Passing numerous shops, they arrived at the Airsoft Gun store with all its plastic-BB shooting equipment inside. Alex looked through the glass window to the inside, previewing the fake weapons.

And was thoroughly shocked.

He thought he'd _never_ see them again. None of them- ever! But they were looking through the largest of the rifles, picking it up and obviously discussing the pros and cons. Alex could almost hear the Scottish voice in his head, as he lip-read "it's got a bad scratch right here" while seeing the man's obviously unhappy and discontented expression. There were two other men present with him, and they couldn't do much more than nod in agreement with the fair-haired man's observation.

The slightly Hispanic army soldier pointed to a different section, and Alex glanced over for a moment to see what he'd been looking at. "Sniper Rifles" was written neatly on the sign.

"Alex? What's wrong?" Jack interrupted. She was tugging his sleeve gently, and her eyes followed the brown ones to the army-esque men; Jack really knew Alex well, and now they looked at each other. "Do you know them?"

"N-no, not at all, Jack," Alex reassured her quickly. Said woman frowned at the out-of-character stutter, but didn't comment. "Perhaps after all my time dodging these weapons we'd better head to a different store, no?"

"Sure." Jack just _knew_ that Alex knew those men. It was her gut instinct. "How's McDonald's sound?"

"Great."

Alex looked into the store one last time before leaving. The leader of the three looked uncomfortable. The man had the expression of someone who could feel the hairs on the back of his neck rising but had no idea why. No, now there were four men. The new arrival looked in Alex's direction and blinked fiercely for a second, seeing Alex looking at them while being led away by a red-haired woman. The other two in the group started to turn slowly, but Alex wouldn't meet their eyes.

The discomforted leader looked more quickly than his two friends in the boyishly-faced shocked newcomer's stare's direction.

Alex found himself catching Wolf's eye for a half-second before Jack dragged him around the corner.

-------

Jack didn't comment on Alex's sudden silence. She didn't mention her feeling of I'm-being-watched to Alex, though he seemed to feel the same way, if his vague fidgeting and wary furtive glances were anything to go by. They licked their desserts, sitting across from each other in the small cafeteria's plastic booth. While Alex was almost done with his pistachio ice cream, Jack felt like she'd only begun to taste her triple-chocolate-threat-flavored scoop.

Without warning, Alex called out towards the entrance. "Hey, guys!"

"Alex!" Jack hissed. She didn't see a soul Alex knew in that direction- not even those people from the Airsoft gun store. "What do you think you're doing?"

"I just saw Tom and James," Alex replied smoothly. Jack couldn't tell if he was lying or not, and that scared her more than anything. His 'job' was changing him- he could do so much more. "Jack, would you mind if I took the Tube home? I'd like to hang out with them for a while."

"Are you lying?"

Alex was thoroughly taken aback- or at least he looked that way. "Why would I lie to you?"

"I don't know- maybe those guys in the Airsoft place creeped you out."

"Then why would I want to leave your side?" Alex huffed sharply. "Look, I'm going to lose them at this rate. May I go?"

Jack exhaled through her nose, very, very slowly. "Okay, okay. Go."

"Thanks for the ice cream."

Her face contorted into worry, sadness, and fear as Alex strode away from the table. She had a bad premonition that something would go wrong. As Alex approached the door, he started to turn to face her; in that instant, Jack masked her own emotions into an encouraging smile and nod. She was learning, too. Alex left, presumably heading after his friends.

Now alone in the two-person booth, Jack sighed and let her ice cream's outer layer melt entirely before licking off the liquid. It was as slow as she could go without making a mess. Alex had had a cone as well; there was no mess opposite her, as he was very neat.

A blond man sat down without warning beside her. "Mind if I sit here?"

"You already have."

The boyishly-faced man smiled serenely, like there wasn't a care in the world. "I suppose I have. What's your name?"

"I thought British people were supposed to be polite. Aren't you supposed to offer _your_ name?" Jack realized the man was smiling, and she blushed- it was rude to correct other people's etiquette. Oops. The man opened his mouth to speak, but Jack cut him off. "Look, I'm not in the mood for company. My 15-year-old ward just ran off to god knows where. Just go, okay?"

The man opposite her raised his eyebrows. "You've got a ward?" Jack couldn't detect a hint of sarcasm in the voice- only a Liverpudlian accent, but she got the general feeling that the man opposite her already knew about Alex. Jack looked closer. A solid red t-shirt coupled with a handsome face greeted her. He looked like a sleek body-builder- bicep muscles rippled as he handled his Starbucks coffee cup. Was he MI6?

"Yea- I'm a guardian." Again, Jack reddened. "Sorry, I'm a bit angry right now. Just- just..." _leave me alone_, she wanted to say. What would Alex say? He was always encouraging her, if jokingly, that she should get a boyfriend. And here was this hot young British guy opposite her. MI6? Possibly. Would Alex mind that? Definitely. Was it worth the risk?

"Just what?" Now the guy had a cute cocked head, eyes questioning. If it were possible, Jack would have blushed even harder.

"Just know that my anger's not for you, alright?" This random guy had won her over already. Well, she _was_ an American.

"No problem."

For a while, neither spoke, the girl tensely licking her brown ice cream while the man sipped his drink languidly.

Jack broke the somewhat-companionable silence. "I think we might have gotten off on the wrong foot."

"You're right." Jack's potentially new friend smiled, and paused. "Hi- my name is Ben. And you, miss?"

-------

Alex hadn't seen Tom or James. He was lying. Without missing a beat, he trotted around the corner. With some luck, K-Unit would follow him.

Alex didn't want Jack to meet them.

After circling the mall three times (while watching for Jack, but surprisingly he didn't see her), Alex determined that he'd have to do something they wanted. He could _feel_ the eyes resting on him- almost like the cold, watery, imagery-sensing flesh was pressed up against his neck; a dribble of nervous sweat gave him the shivers as it dripped down the nape of his clammy neck. Why wouldn't they make contact? Did they want him to leave the mall?

It was worth a try.

Alex zipped up his sweatshirt as he passed through the automatic doorways. It was only a bit nippy, but he felt the need anyway. The unseen eyes were dropping the 'stare-chill', as Tom once put it. Like 'wind-chill', the classmate had said- you feel colder when someone's staring at you. Alex snorted softly as he thought of his sometimes belligerent classmate; it was how the other boy had earned those stares.

As he walked down the mall's front stairs, he looked up.

It wasn't out of habit- he never did it, even after being sniped. There was no need, really- MI6 had worked it out for him, and it seemed to be true this time. Otherwise, he'd probably have been attacked already. It was because of something James had said- Alex just remembered it for no reason in particular, except maybe that he was thinking of his friends in his lonely state. "Man, Alex," James had uttered after a football practice, "you've got eyes in the back of your head- and the ones I can see have got to be better than a hawk's!"

On the rooftop opposite, he saw a figure clad in black. The blond hair reflected the sun, but from here he couldn't identify the person. Really, that wasn't his interest.

It was what the roof-man was holding: a sniper gun.

Alex didn't have time to react as he felt something slam into his chest. While the impact wasn't as harsh as before, Alex still fell backwards, this time staggering.

Strangely, he could feel pain in his chest- but he hadn't before! Alex sat on the steps for a long moment, earning a slew of looks ranging from annoyed to concerned. No one was screaming, and nothing felt far away.

Where were his parents?

The random question passed through his head before he could stop it. They'd been there before, even though they were dead. John and Helen: the parents he'd never meet, except in near-death experiences or the afterlife.

Alex jerked slightly when a large hand descended on his right shoulder.

"Happy April Fool's Day, Cub!" a familiar voice proclaimed with its unidentifiable accent. Wolf.

Snake walked around front, offering his hand. Alex, half out of shock and half out of surprise, took it. Snake was grinning as he pulled Alex to his feet.

"Tsk, tsk," Wolf jokingly proclaimed. "You're in the middle of a busy through-way- we'd best head off." In a stupor- Alex still hadn't looked up from the ground-, the blond teenager nodded minutely, allowing himself to be hustled along to the place across the street by the hand on his shoulder and by the hand in his. It looked like a regular convenience store- just on a very small scale, as it had only one room.

"Eagle owns this. He's hired a manager for when he's got missions," Snake offered as they approached the building. "He's our sharpshooter."

Wolf added to this. "The second floor's private- no customers." Snake looked at Alex and winked before pulling him up those stairs too.

Eagle was descending as they came up. "Hey there." The owner led them into a small, quaint room. It had a card table and folding chairs, but it had a nice lived-in feeling. It could have been the cigarette butts neatly collected in the ashtray or the orderly disorder of the room, but Alex just knew. Said child was still thinking unclearly. The other men had taken seats around the table.

Snake nudged Alex into a seat, noticing something 'off' about the boy for the first time. "Hey, Cub- are you alright?"

Eagle flicked on a light and looked over. "Yeah- you're a bit pale." Wolf only bothered cocking an eyebrow.

It was true- Alex was ghostly white. His eyes were glassy, and his faced looked waxed because of the sheen of sweat that had coated it. His manner was stiff, and and his breaths were carefully taken through taut lips: inhaled slowly, exhaled slowly, as if he were trying to avoid hyperventilating. Fists were connected to his tensed arms, and he hadn't said a word to any of them.

"Cub?" Snake asked. "Cub?"

The boy looked up for the first time, meeting Snake's baby blues. The SAS soldier was shocked to see the animalistic fear swirling through the boy's eyes, eyelids drawn back slightly in fright before the eyes dropped to the floor once more.

Wolf looked a bit concerned. "It was only a joke, you know."

Alex let out a huff of laughter- it didn't sound amused at all. "A joke." Another quick huff, almost hysterical. "A joke. Only a joke, you say."

Snake was genuinely worried, and his eyebrows creased. "What's wrong?"

Abruptly, Alex stood and headed for the door, giving the SAS team as much of a berth as he could. None of them moved to stop him, and he would have made it if Ben hadn't stepped into the doorway, blocking his path.

"Leaving so soon?" Ben sounded sincerely surprised. Alex tried to brush past him, but the elder MI6 agent slung an arm around Alex's waist, pulling him back into the break room. "Not so fast."

Addressing the other men, Alex's current captor spoke. "I got her number, by the way." The others smiled, little to Alex's knowledge.

Alex was trying hard to put the usual lid on his emotions- trying to withdraw, to escape into calmer recesses of his mind, but it seemed he no longer had such recesses after feeling like he'd be shot again. Ben had yet to get a clear look at Alex in the stairwell's dim lighting.

How could they? Alex thought carefully. Why were they acting like old friends? Was it because of Point Blanc Academy? Alex was glad that he was very good at accepting all the bad things that had happened to him- he'd dealt with them, but it really hurt to be reminded of his closest venture to heaven. In fact, he'd say his body was reacting, not his mind- but his body's reaction was definitely rattling his soul.

Ben pushed Alex back into his seat and took one of the folded chairs leaning against the wall. He put it down next to Alex. "How've you been?"

Out of courtesy, Alex answered- eternally grateful for all the 'facial-muscle-training' his uncle had given him. "Better." It was barely a whisper.

"Alex?" Ben looked more closely. Alex looked like he was in shock. Out of habit, the hired MI6 agent reached out to take a pulse. A smaller hand swatted it away.

"No. _No_." Alex mumbled. He didn't want to be here at all, so he tried to leave, again.

Again, Ben stopped him, this time by crouching in front of said child, pushing him back into a seated position, and placing his hands on Alex's shoulders. "What's wrong with you?"

Alex snorted and spoke in an usually high-pitched voice, whispering. "Do you have any _idea _what it's like to be shot?" Ben raised a skeptical eyebrow- surely Alex hadn't forgotten? Ever observant, Alex didn't miss the cocked brow. He chuckled sardonically. "Oh yeah- you do." Alex paused. "Do you have _any_ idea what it's like to... to be..." Oh yes, Alex was breathing much more quickly now, and he stopped himself.

Wolf and the others exchanged looks. Was the kid unstable or something? Christ- had _he _been shot? What else could prompt such a question!

Alex didn't miss their silent questions. He smiled hysterically, closing his eyes. A choked laugh escaped him, shocking the room's occupants. A glimmer of a teardrop on a young cheek almost frightened them- they could deal with victims that they met after emergencies, but here? They had absolutely no idea what they were facing or why Alex was upset now.

Ben knew it was against regulation, but he was somewhat close to Alex, relationship-wise. He stood and pulled Alex into a hug. Alex buried his face into Ben's chest and hugged him back, letting silent tears release. Maybe he wasn't fully recovered after everything that had happened.

Wolf didn't like it. He knew the kid had been fine- not long after Point Blanc Academy, Alex had gotten appendicitis. That would have kept him off the duty roster for most of the past year- a simple prank couldn't possibly trigger something like this! Snake felt the same way, and Eagle was trying to profile Alex. The bird-named soldier was having no luck.

"Breathe, Alex, breathe," Ben murmured, having noticed a certain lack of air. Complying, Alex released a choked sob.

Now the other occupants of the room were thoroughly thrown. They didn't do anything but watch as minutes passed by.

After quite some time, Alex calmed down and slackened his death-grip on Ben's torso. Without moving otherwise, Alex spoke into the red shirt. "Thanks."

Ben ran a gentle hand through Alex's golden hair. "No problem."

Without warning, Alex pulled away sharply and tried to leave without saying 'farewell'. This time, though, it wasn't Ben who stopped him.

Snake and Eagle seized his arms and pinned him in a chair, standing clear of his legs' kicking range. Wolf was less wary- he placed himself right between the upset boy's knees, effectively protecting himself anyway. Alex's cheeks reddened to match his eyes. Ben walked up behind him.

"You've been shot, haven't you?" the unit leader asked softly. Inside, he was positively outraged. Whatever the boy had been shot for or with, it was clearly traumatizing him. By now, Wolf was guessing that MI6 had lied to him; it probably wasn't appendicitis after all.

Alex shook his head, not trusting himself to speak. It didn't matter; Wolf saw through the movement anyway. He delicately lifted the now-struggling-wildly boy's shirt to look for the damage, realizing that Alex wouldn't say where. Wolf was positively dying to know now, and his unit-mates seemed to have the same curiosity.

Wolf saw Alex's real appendicitis scar, and he immediately deduced that he'd guessed incorrectly about a bullet. Best to make sure, though: "Snake, what do you think?"

The Scottish man studied the aged scar, ignoring the surrounding ones; most of them were fairly light. "It's too small; scars don't grow. I'd say he had the operation when he was a toddler."

Wolf nodded and hiked up the fabric of Alex's clothing higher, raising his eyebrows at the new and faded collection of scars. It was unusual for a child to have so many markings. Before long, Wolf found himself in front of Alex's bare chest. Those who could see were staring unabashedly at Alex's most horrific scar.

Alex stilled.

Snake gasped.

Eagle gulped.

Wolf swallowed.

Ben couldn't see.

"Sniped," Snake snapped then snorted. "He was going to say 'sniped'."

Alex closed his eyes. "What time is it?"

Ben, who was less shocked like the others, answered quietly. "Roughly 5:45."

Alex smirked, apparently having calmed down more since his outburst. "Dinner's in 15- I have to catch the Tube."

K-Unit couldn't get explanations now.

Darn.

"Right." Wolf backed away, letting Alex's clothes settle once more. "Right..." The men pinning his arms released him.

Alex was leaving- _finally_!

"Alex?" Ben asked. The child faced him. "We'll be in contact soon."

"Who's 'we'?" Everyone caught the reference to MI6.

"This 'we'," Ben said as he gestured towards the rest of K-Unit.

"How?"

Ben grinned. "I've got a date with a red-head."

"Don't you _dare_ use her!" Alex hissed.

Ben's smile saddened, understanding Alex's distress. "My reasons have _nothing _to do with you, Alex."

Shocked once more- but in a somewhat happier way- Alex darted away.

Maybe seeing them again wouldn't be so bad after all.

-------

_Epilogue_

-------

Alex was returning home from school. He walked in the front door.

"Jack? Jack!"

No answer. Only some giggles from the kitchen. Alex walked in.

Ben and Jack were kissing by the counter, but they broke apart when Alex came in.

It was time for explanations from everyone.

-------

AN: Happy Belated April Fool's Day! (I want to prank you all... are you reading my other story, "To New Heights"? I've got a joke in the next chapter!)

I don't think this is one of my better pieces, but I figured you'd prefer reading it rather than hearing, "Oh, by the way, I wrote this one-shot and deleted it," in another Author's Note.

...Right?

If everyone is out of character... Well, I have issues in my life: I have difficulty dealing- how can Alex deal so much more easily! Alex _has _to break down just to make me feel better.

Thanks for reading!


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